Monthly Archives: April 2013

Darwin Awards the focus of Science After Dark

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science_after_darkTonight from 6pm to 8pm at the Museum of Discovery, the monthly Science After Dark program looks at “Why People Make Mistakes” and the Darwin Awards.

This monthly event is for the grown-ups because science is fun…at any age!

Science After Dark provides visitors the opportunity to have fun and learn about science in a unique setting. Museum educators pick a science-related topic and build an entertaining, interactive evening around it.

The program is for individuals ages 21 and over.  The cost is $5 but is free for those with a museum membership.  There are refreshments and a cash bar.

Gov. Davis vs. Baptist Church in 1902 today at Old State House

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Jeff Davis2Today at noon, the Old State House will host another of its Brown Bag Lunch Lectures. This one is entitled Jeff Davis, Alcohol, and the Second Baptist Church Controversy of 1902.

In 1902, Arkansas’ notoriously divisive Governor Jeff Davis was spotted publicly drinking alcohol aboard a train. A firestorm of controversy resulted within the Second Baptist Church of Little Rock and Davis was thrown out of the congregation.

This lecture will reveal the roots of the controversy in an earlier fight over building the new state capitol building between Davis and former Governor James Eagle, chair of the deacons of the church.

Brian Irby is a library tech at the Arkansas History Commission. He received his B.A. and M.A. in history at the University of Central Arkansas.

April 23 Architeaser

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IMG_4944In 1936 a City Garage was constructed behind City Hall (on the north side of the property).  Previously there had been a non-City factory on this site.

It was built in a very utilitarian style with a brick facade on the east and west faces and a curved Quonset roof atop brick walls on the north and south faces.  Over the years the building has been modified repeatedly (as is evidenced by the various shades of buff bricks visible not only in this picture but also throughout the actual building).

At one time offices were put in part of the building but they have been removed.  Today it is used to store City vehicles.

 

On Shakespeare’s birthday, a look at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre events

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AST_logoToday is the traditionally accepted birthday of the Bard of Avon.  He also died on this date in 1616 at the age of 52.  The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre has an event later this week and is preparing for the 2013 season.  In honor of William Shakespeare’s birthday, today’s entry looks at some upcoming AST events.

On Wednesday, April 24, Robert Quinlan, who directed Richard III last season for AST, will speak in the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on the UCA campus (next to Reynolds Performance Hall) at 7 p.m. about his particular process and explorations involved in directing Shakespeare.  The event is sponsored by the UCA Foundation.

Quinlan is a freelance director based in Chicago. His other recent directing credits include the world premiere of The Magic Bicycle, #thisrocks, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Illusion, Iphigenia, Other Daughters, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, and Killer Joe.

He was the assistant director to Tina Landau on productions of Superior Donuts on Broadway and The Tempest at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Internationally, he has directed The Maids and Proof at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore. He holds an MFA in directing from Illinois State University.

The 2013 Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season will open on June 6 with a production of Much ado About Nothing.  The other productions this summer, which will alternate in rotating repertory, are Oliver!, King Lear and a special one-hour version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

April 22 Architeaser

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IMG_4937Last week’s Architeasers focused on the 1908 Little Rock City Hall.  This week’s will look at the five other buildings which have are connected to City Hall.  The first opened in 1913 and the most recent structure opened in 1986.

Today’s feature looks at some of the detail on the frieze above the former Central Fire Station.  The building was constructed in 1912 and opened in 1913.  When the Fire Department moved out in the 1970s (and moved to their current site at 7th and Chester), it was used for storage and a few City offices.

This building was designed in the Beaux Arts Classicism style by Charles Thompson (designer of City Hall) and his associate Tom Harding (who would later design several other Little Rock fire stations).

Following the mid-1980s renovations, it was retrofitted to house more City offices and is now known as the City Hall West Wing (the name predated the TV show by a dozen years). The cornice work and wrought-iron on the front facade reflect the original use of the building as a fire station.

Ark Rep’s DEATH OF A SALESMAN this week!

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Salesman (1)Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer, Tony and New York Drama Critics Circle winning Death of a Salesman opens at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre this week.  Previews are Wednesday and Thursday night before Friday’s opening night.  The production runs through May 12.

Death of a Salesman has been hailed as the greatest American play.  The central character, Willy Loman, has been compared to heroes in Aristotlean proportions.

But at the heart of all the hype is family bound by love and crushed by disappointments as they struggle to make sense of life.  Though set in the post World War II era, these themes resonate today.

Arkansas Rep Producing Artistic Director Robert Hupp is directing this production.  He has assembled a powerhouse cast led by Robert Walden as Willy Loman.  In her Arkansas Rep debut, Broadway vet Carolyn Mignini plays Linda Loman, his wife.  Their two sons are played by Avery Clark and Craig Maravich.  Clark has quickly become a Rep audience favorite through his performances in Hamlet, The 39 Steps and Henry V.  Maravich is making his Rep debut.

Others in the cast are Broadway vet William Metzo, Arkansas Rep vets Jay E. Raphael and Joe Menino, and Christopher Ryan and Kevin Sebastian, Stephanie Gunderman , Rachael Small and Andi Watson.

The design team includes Mike Nichols (sets), Rafael Colon Castanera (costumes), Allan Branson (sound), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Kenton Yeager (lighting).

Prior to the performances on Wednesday, April 24 and Thursday, April 25, a preshow talk will take place on the set with Hupp and members of the creative team. It will be from 6:15pm to 6:45pm.  There will be another opportunity to learn more about the production on May 1 at the Clinton School at 12 noon.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette presents The Rep’s “Pay What You Can Night” on Wed., April  24 Patrons can pay any amount they wish for their ticket. Tickets must be purchased in person at the Box Office at 601 Main Street the day of the performance. The Box Office will be open from 9 a.m. until curtain. Tickets are limited to (2) two per person. Offer is based on seating availability.

Performance times are Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7pm, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm.

Purple Moon Dance Project performs in gallery of Arkansas Arts Center

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purple-moonThe Arkansas Arts Center presents a one-of-a-kind experience today at 2pm in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery which is currently displaying the exhibit Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066.

In a special collaboration, emerging within the gallery installation, Purple Moon Dance Project and Artistic Director Jill Togawa will present When Dreams Are Interrupted, a riveting site-specific performance that uncovers the profound imprint left on a neighborhood by the forced removal and mass evacuation of Japanese American communities in 1942.

Dancers Jill Togawa, Ruth Ichinaga and Sharon Sato will explore and infuse with the “Tag Project” to draw out the stories and memories amassed by artist Wendy Maruyama and to highlight local history and stories.

This production captures the painful experiences of hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry forced into concentration camps during World War II through a poignant and stunning combination of original choreography, music, visual art and poetry. It is through artistic and historically authentic expressions such as these that we remember, pay tribute to and honor those who suffered this unspeakable injustice, in hopes that we may prevent such a dark episode in America’s history from ever happening again.